The Albanese government keeps telling us that their new ‘Digital Duty of Care’ law is designed to give us control over our social media.
And it has nothing to do with giving the government more power over the media.
They say that at the centre of the intention is what they call the social media ‘algorithm.’
Does that word mean anything to you?
Is it one of those common words you find yourself uttering every day?
Or is it a technical word that the government we’ll just trust them to get right?
‘Algorithm’ has been part of the English language for centuries.
It came into English (via Latin) from an ancient Greek source that also gave us the word ‘arithmetic.’
It seems that basically any ‘algorithm’ is a set of rules or procedures used in calculation.
But how does that apply to the media?
Well, ‘algorithm’ has a special meaning in the realm of social media.
Here’s how the Oxford explains it: ‘An algorithm (as) used by a social media company, streaming service, etc., to sort and prioritize content most likely to be relevant or engaging to individual users, based on data gathered about user behaviour, demographic profiles, etc.’
In other words, the ‘algorithm’ is how a social media or news site chooses what content should be shown to a particular user.’
One commentor explains like this:
‘The more you engage with something, the more it feeds you the same thing... So people already angry about it will seem angrier as they engage with it more as the algorithm keeps feeding them.’
But all that an ‘algorithm’ does is reflect our interests, so why does the government want to block it?
What am I missing here?
Research continues.
Tonight I will join John Stanley for 'The Word Clinic' on 2GB, 4BC, 2CC and the Tapt Radio Network -- right after the 10pm news.
The September-October edition of Australian Geographic is in newsagents now -- with a photo of a pelican on the front cover. Inside (along with brilliant photography and great articles) you'll find my two small columns 'Ozwords' and 'Placenames.'
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BY THE WAY...
If you'd like to see my A-Z list of Aussie slang, you'll find it here in the Australian Geographic website -- A-Z list of Aussie slang. Here’s the link: The A-Z of Aussie slang - Australian Geographic
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